Killing Machines, Not Nurses

Richard stood still in the middle of the white room which was now completely drenched in blood. John’s motionless corpse laid next to his feet. Tears rolled down Richard’s cheek and fell into the pool of blood below him.

Completely left alone by his comrades, Richard now faced his fate all by himself.

Hundreds of security personnel ran into the building, pointing their guns at Richard.

“Don’t shoot.” the Director ordered. “Go get more chains and tie him up. MAKE SURE HE CAN’T MOVE THIS TIME!”

“Sir, you are still going to continue? Didn’t you see what just happened?” Mr Kawasaki complained. “It literally consumes the life force. We should stop here.”

“We must continue. Our lives don’t matter here. Humanity’s fate rests on the results of these experiments.” the Director said.

“Their bodies can’t handle ‘Stage V’! John’s body was literally breaking apart every second he was in ‘Stage V’. There’s no point in doing this.”

“John broke free from those chains. We couldn’t record anything from it. WE NEED THAT DATA! HOW MANY TIMES SHOULD I TELL YOU THAT? JUST SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB.” the Director yelled.

Mr Kawasaki averted his eyes. He didn’t want to follow the orders but he couldn’t help it. He only hoped that the Director had a good enough reason behind his pure desperation.

“TIE HIM UP. DON’T YOU DARE RESIST, RICHARD! THE EXPERIMENT ISN’T OVER!” the Director shouted.

The soldiers moved closer. Richard didn’t move a muscle. His eyes were still fixed on his comrades’ dead bodies. The grief had left him immobile, completely dazed as he mourned the death of his fallen comrades.

They slowly took him and tied him back to the wall, this time with double the chains. Many more guards were stationed in the room with their guns pointed at Richard.

“BEGIN THE FINAL EXPERIMENT!” the Director shouted.

Richard closed his eyes and awaited his imminent fate.

“I SAID BEGIN THE FINAL EXPERIMENT!”, the Director yelled.

Mr Kawasaki hesitated. He knew that even if the Director had a reason for his actions, this experiment wouldn’t bear any fruit. It was plain murder at this point.

“Sir, his body just cannot handle ‘Stage V’. He’ll burst open, just like the others. This is pointless. This is just murder.” Mr Kawasaki said. His eyes were determined. He had made his choice. He was not going to make another choice that he would regret for the rest of his life.

“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SH-” the Director was interrupted by Mr Kawasaki.

“If we are able to raise a child from birth, with a highly efficient body, then I’m sure its body will be able to handle such high blood pressures. If the arteries and veins adapt to such high blood pressures of the highly efficient body, ‘Stage V’ won’t be a dream anymore. Its physical capabilities would be on a whole new level. It’s a brilliant idea!”

“Hmmm...” the Director sat down and began to think. He had realised that Mr Kawasaki’s true intentions were to save Richard, but he knew that Mr Kawasaki’s logic was foolproof.

“Fine then, but only on one condition.” the Director said.

“What is the condition?”

“Disable their ability to feel emotions. Remove the emotional side of their brain or something. These agents are useless to the CIA if they allow emotions to interfere with their mission. They just need to be obedient and listen to our orders; they don’t require the need to feel anything. These are killing machines, not nurses. Emotions are a drawback for killing machines like these.” the Director pointed at Richard.

“Sir…” Mr Kawasaki knew that the Director was right. There were many instances in the past where agents weren’t able to complete their missions due to emotional attachment. But the condition still felt very cruel. Even then, it was better than allowing Richard to die here in vain.

“It is possible but it would only last for 15-20 years until the subject’s brain rewires itself and develops emotions.” Mr Kawasaki said.

“That much time is more than enough. Get back to work then. This experiment is now over.” the Director announced as he left the room.

Mr Kawasaki was elated. He had just successfully changed the stubborn Director’s mind and saved Richard. He smiled as he turned his head towards Richard. But Richard’s gaze was still fixed on John’s motionless corpse, which laid in the pool of blood. Despair and sorrow filled his eyes as he realised how cruel fate was.

Mr Kawasaki averted his eyes and walked out of the room. He couldn’t face Richard after all that had happened.

---

Six months had passed by. Richard still remained as an agent, working for the CIA. Even though he had lost his comrades, there wasn’t any other place left that he could call home.

He was removed from the espionage unit and was given complete freedom to join any unit. Richard ended up choosing the undercover cop unit.

He had to be a part of the country’s law enforcement agency as well as the CIA. These kinds of roles were usually not very intense. The only use of roles like these was to aid fellow spies and agents in the country. People having such roles blended in with the local law enforcement agency of the country and played a support role for CIA agents and spies in their mission.

Currently, Richard was a part of the New York Police Department. If he gained enough experience, he would be allowed to blend in with law enforcement agencies of other countries.

----

Today, he had been called to a special laboratory built by the CIA in Guam to observe the results of the new experiments.

After a long flight to the island in the Pacific ocean, he was guided immediately to the building where the research and development wing was located.

All the scientists were surrounding a glass chamber in which there were five infants, sleeping on small white beds.

They seemed to be in a grave discussion.